I sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady my shaky nerves. It was three minutes to eight, almost time for our grand and possibly final performance. I peeked through the branches of the coniferous trees surrounding WAOIC headquarters. The guards' blank stares seemed directed at me. My fingers lifted to the sides of my mask, subconsciously pressing on the edges to ensure it was in place. The last thing I wanted was to be discovered by the enemy agents.

The door to WAOIC headquarters opened. A line of guards marched out of the building in sync, machine guns in hand. The previous guards stepped forward from the building to allow the new one to take their place.

"Now!" I whispered.

Ty and I strutted out from the bushes. Jax brought up the rear, carrying the sleeping Agent Fox. It was scary how much she looked like me, her black bob, icy blue eyes, and youthful skin matched what I had stared at everyday for the past eighteen years.

The heels of my boots sunk into mud. Tall grasses brushed my leather-cloaked thighs. I was grateful to the knees length boots and thick pants Agent Fox had worn yesterday. It was a comforting barrier between my skin and whatever lurked in the grasses. The only weird part about it was that I was wearing some else's clothes...but what could we do? It would be strange if we showed up in different attire than the agents left in.

The electric fence drew closer with each stride. My pulse quickened, nervous energy flooding my veins. Remember Xara. Be Xara. Always calm, always cool, always collected—emotionless.

That meant no fear. After all, I was Agent X's clone. I could be her, I was her.

Then why do I feel so small?

I forced air into my lungs. Just because you're small doesn't mean you can't pretend to be big.

My back straightened, my head high in the air. The corners of my lips curled into a smirk.

We reached the electric gate standing in the center of the clearing. The line of guards marched past, inches away from us. I resisted the urge to tense my muscles. They aren't going to suspect a thing.

The last of the guards passed, leaving the gate door to swing shut. Ty caught it at the last moment and held it open for Jax and me. For a moment, I questioned whether a WAOIC agent would show that much chivalry, even to his colleagues. But then again, Smog was one of the more dangerous agents since he was so good at pretending to be kind. In reality, he was rotten to the core. It just was undetectable until it was too late.

The three of us stepped in front of the building. A small, black camera on the side of the building angled down at us. I summoned an icy, smug gaze. My lungs inhaled and exhaled as normal, easing the nerves from my body.

"Names," a robotic voice said.

"Agent Smog," Ty said.

"Agent Fox," I said.

"Agent Bone."

"Fingerprints."

A small pad shot out from the iron door with the outline of a thumb in the center. In turn, we pressed the mimicry thumbprints that Dari had made for us on the glass.

"Please state countersign."

Oh shoot. I didn't know any password. Our interrogation of Smog and Bone had been useless.

"Countersign," Ty said.

I realized the mistake I had made. The robot said 'please state countersign.' It wanted us to merely say the word 'countersign' for voice identification.

"Agent Fox and Agent Bone, please state countersign."

"Countersign," I said in Agent Fox's voice.

"Countersign," Jax said.

"Accepted. Please enter."

Slowly, the door opened. I stepped into a dark hall, lit only by glowing, red LEDs that lined the tops of the walls. The air was cold and stifling, like entering a tomb. The entranceway rounded into a long corridor lined with doors on the right side. My fingers fidgeted at my sides.

Which door do we take?

One of the doors in the center swung open. A man in a dark suit, hat, gloves, and sunglasses stepped out.

"Ah, hello Smog, Fox, and Bone. I've been expecting you. Follow me up to my office."

He started down the hallway without a second glance to make sure we were following. Ty, Jax, and I hurried after him. I stared at the back of the man's head, racking my brain as to who he might be. Something about him looked familiar, but he was impossible to place without seeing more of his physical features.

The hall ended with a staircase that wound its way to the second floor. We followed the man up, our boots echoing on the metal rungs. The top landing formed a sharp angle with the adjacent hall. The man stalked forward quickly, forcing the rest of us to jog to catch up.

He stopped in front of a door and held up an id to a metal box by the doorknob. It clicked, and the door swung open to an office.

"Sit down," the man said, motioning to the three seats waiting in front of a desk cluttered with papers. "Bone, you can dump the clone over there in the corner."

Jax nodded and set Fox on the ground. She squirmed slightly, then returned to motionlessness.

The man reclined in a cushioned chair on the other side of the desk while we were stark in hard, wooden chairs. Finally, the man removed his glasses to reveal piercing brown eyes and a full head of black hair. Now I could recognize him. He was Greer, the head of field operations at WAOIC.

"I assume you put down the other members of Team Summit," Greer said.

"Yes, we did right after your call ended," Ty said.

"And you disposed of the bodies?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Standard operating procedure is to burn their bodies and bring their ashes to headquarters."

"So that's what you did?"

Ty reached into his pocket and held up a box. We had burned a couple pieces of paper in the woods and put it inside.

"I hope the deaths weren't messy."

"Don't worry, we kept things clean and classy."

Since when were deaths classy?

"And you, Fox, how did things go on your mission?" Greer's brown eyes narrowed to daggers.

I had no idea what mission he was referring to. Breathe, Xara. Everything will be fine. Just remain calm, cool, and collected.

"It went quite well."

"Everything is taken care of?"

"Indeed."

"I'll need a full report later. Right now, though, we have more important matters to tend to. I think it's time to dispose of Agent X."

"It is?" Ty leaned back in his chair. His lips twisted into a grin, though I knew it must be painful for him. "Had enough fun with her, ey?"

"We didn't get as much information as we would have hoped," Greer said. "She hasn't talked about the clone or IIA procedures. We've thought about running tests on her, but I think we know what we're going to find: a completely normal person born with an abnormally sharp mind. That information is of no use to us. The clone, however, could be useful information. We can use it to figure out how to clone our own staff members. Naturally, you three would be our prime agents to select."

"Thanks," I said.

"But that comes later. For right now, we need to dispose of the real Agent X once and for all." He pulled a set of keys from his pocket. "Head to her cell, Smog, and tell her the two of you are going for a little trip. You know what room to bring her to. I think she will be excellent target practice for our new recruits. As for you, Fox and Bone..."

Based on my encounters with Fox, she was shockingly demanding. I summoned my most bossy tone possible.

"Um, I don't think so."

Greer's head snapped to me. He opened his mouth to speak, but I continued.

"I want to be there for Xara's death. She was the reason I was in prison a few years ago. The new recruits can have their target practice, I want to get in at least one good shot."

The room fell silent. Greer's face hardened into a scowl. I forced my lungs to inhale and exhale, to remain calm in spite of his scrutiny.

"Okay," he relented after a moment, "You can go. Bone, do you wish to be there as well?"

"Yes," Jax said.

"Very well." Greer handed the keys to Ty. "Make this snappy. I know she's been a lot of trouble to us for the past few decades, but she isn't worth wasting time."

"I think we've gotten enough revenge on her," Ty agreed. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. It was scary how well he was playing his part. It was almost as if he really were Smog, or at least working with WAOIC...

"Alright, go now. Return to my office when you're done," Greer said.

I rose from my seat and headed for the door. Every moment in the room felt like I was being suffocated, mainly because it was in enemy hands.

"Oh, and take the clone down to the lab while you're at it. You'll be in the same area."

Jax picked up Agent Fox from the floor and followed Ty and me from the room. I swept my gaze from side to side. I didn't know which route to take to Xara's prison. We would just have to guess.

I guess we can start by going left. The whole building is a rectangle, so in theory, we'll end up in the same place.

Ty must have had the same idea because started towards the left. His pace quickened with each step until we were nearly running through the halls. I didn't blame him for being in a hurry. I had an overwhelming sense that we would be caught at any moment.

The hall rounded, leading to an iron, grated door. A single lightbulb cast dim light on the room. Keys clanged against the metal lock as Ty began shoving them into the lock, trying to find the right one.

"Shh," I said. Ty straightened, though his hands still shook as he shuffled through the keys.

At last, one slipped into place. Ty twisted it in the lock, and the door opened.

A few cells lined the sides, no furnishings or prisoners. I nearly walked right past the fourth cell. But a shadow caught in the corner of my eye. I turned.

A woman sat on the floor, legs crossed underneath her. Her black hair was ragged and uneven, hanging just below chin-level. Black leather hung loosely on her bony frame. Dried blood and bruises dotted her hands, neck, and face—the only exposed parts of her body. She started to shiver, but quickly suppressed the movement.

In spite of her physical degradation, she was unmistakable.

She was Agent X.

My eyes widened. It was...me. All my life, I dreamt of meeting Xara. I longed for her approval, for her to look at me and say that I was worthy of being her. Seeing her in this state of weakness was wrong. The Agent X I knew was strong, merciless, and unemotional—even to herself.

There was so much I wanted to say. But I had to remain quiet. I had to show restraint, just like she always did.

I willed my voice to sound mocking, heartless.

"Agent X?" I sneered.

Xara looked up. For a moment, she was as small and frail as paper, her eyes pools of pain and sorrow. But they froze to ice the moment they landed on me.

"Fox," she muttered through gritted teeth. But her voice was exhausted.

"Long time no see," I said. "I'm sure you're surprised to see me out from bars, unlike you. Funny how that works. Sometimes the person who you stumble brings your ultimate downfall."

"Yet you weren't the one to capture me," Xara spat.

"She's right you know," Ty sang. "Give credit where credit is due. I was the one who caught her."

"No," Xara murmured. Her glazed over, staring off into space. "It was my team."

I froze. I looked at Ty in the corner of my eye. He seemed just as baffled as I.

"Well, no matter who got you here," Ty said. "All that matters now is where you are going. And even more importantly, who's going to send you there."

Xara turned back to us. "And you're taking me there now."

"Yes." Ty fumbled through the keys to find the right one. Xara's blue eyes danced with amusement. But behind her scornful stare, I could see pain.

She must be thinking, 'how was I captured by such bumbling fools?'

Ty opened the prison door. I stepped into the cell. In spite of myself, my nose wrinkled at the moldy air. How could anyone survive here?

I peered down where Xara's wrists were chained to the ground. Ty hurried over with his keys to remove the clamps. As he freed her, I could see an uncanny delacy in his touch, as if he didn't want to bruise her already marred hands. Xara noticed it too. Her brows twitched ever so slightly. He reached around her waist and helped her to her feet.

"Right this way, Agent X," Ty sneered. But he wasn't all-in acting anymore. Tears collected in his green eyes.

It doesn't matter. We just need to get out of here without opposition.

I was sure that Xara knew something was up. Fortunately, she was smart enough to play along anyways.

"Are you able to walk?" Ty asked.

Slowly, Xara nodded. Ty pulled his arms away, but Xara's knees gave out. I jumped forward to catch her. Ty joined on the other side. Xara's eyes glazed over in anger. She didn't want to be dependent on anyone, especially not WAOIC agents.

But I had a feeling she was more angry at herself than us. She had let herself down.

"Smog, you take her," I said. I pushed Xara's weight onto Ty. A security camera pointed at us in the corner of the room. We had to keep pretending, we had to convince them that we were WAOIC agents.

I smirked as I looked down at Xara, hunched over and small. "You'd better start saying good-bye to this place. Unfortunately for you, you'll never see it again."

"Why would I say farewell when I never welcomed it?" Xara stated.

I huffed and stalked towards the door on the opposite end of the hall. "Smog, give me the keys."

"Yes ma'am."

According to the few memories Xara had of encounters with Smog, that was not something he would say. Hopefully no one catches that mistake before we get out of here.

The keys clanged in the lock, and the door creaked open. Glancing both ways for any sign of WAOIC agents, I started forward. I felt like every camera in the hall was trained on my back. Keep going, Xara. You're almost there.

I glanced at Jax. He was right behind us, still carrying Fox. He made eye contact with me, as if to say 'I'm ready.' Ty was right beside me, his face unusually somber.

I think we're ready. I felt for a square-shaped button on my belt and pressed it. It would indicate to Dari that we were ready to leave. A tiny vibration was sent to my phone in my back pocket. That was Dari's way of saying 'be on stand-by.' She had placed a GPS tracker in my belt and was able to see my exact location within WAOIC headquarters. Once we were in the perfect spot, she would send three, rapid fire vibrations to my phone.

I moved forward slowly. I didn't want to pass the ideal spot of escape.

Suddenly, I felt three vibrations in my back pocket. Now.

There's no turning back. It's showtime.

I paused in the hallway. Ty and Jax did the same. Xara's eyebrows twitched, but she didn't say anything. My left hand grabbed a metal sphere no larger than a ping-pong ball and flung it at the wall. I dashed backwards and grabbed a gun from my belt.

Stone exploded, spitting rubble out of a hole just big enough for a single person to fit through. Alarms blared in the hallway. I fired the gun outside the hole. A wire rope shot into a tree in the distance. I stabbed the end of the gun into a wall, forming a zipline. I gripped the wire with gloved hands and jumped out of the building.

Air rushed around me as I flew forward. Shouts rose from the ground, but I was already soaring into the trees. Dari had set up the angle just right so that we were the closest to the forest, and the furthest from any WAOIC guards outside.

I slid right into a tree, the branches reaching out as if to catch me. Jax came next with Xara in one arm, his other hand supporting himself on the rope. Ty coasted in last.

"Come on, we don't have much time," I whispered. Xara nodded, though I could tell that she didn't fully understand what was going on.

I pulled rope off my belt, tied it to the top of the tree, and slid down. The ground met my feet a minute later. Ty, Jax, and Xara had made it down, too. We all got in the car, and Finn took off down the road.

WAOIC agents and guards swarmed towards us.

"Finn, we gotta get out of here!" I yelled.

"I know, I'm driving as fast as I can."

The car raced through the trees. Motors roared behind me.

"What's going on?" Xara demanded. "Finn, Dari, is that really you?"

"Yup," Dari said.

"Sure," Finn said, focusing on driving.

The speedometer rose past fifty miles per hour. In the side mirror, I caught a glimpse of a motorcycle. A gun fired, metal striking the car. Blood pounded on the sides on my head.

"Finn, they're catching up!" I yelled.

"I know!"

Glass shattered in the backseat.

"Get down!" I cried.

"Since when did you join the IIA?" Xara questioned.

"We'll explain later," I said.

Right now, we had one goal: stay alive.

Finn flew through the path, dodging the blur of trees on the winding path with expert precision. My stomach spun with nausea, threatening to release the eggs and toast I had eaten for breakfast.

Light shone through a narrow space in the trees, opening to a paved road. Finn slammed the gas pedal. We darted in front of a stream of cars, missing them by mere inches. Horns blared from behind us.

I turned to look for the WAOIC agents. A stream of cars flooded the road, blocking anyone from leaving the forest.

All of the breath in my lungs escaped. "We're good, Finn. The WAOIC agents got stuck behind a bunch of cars."

The car slowed to a normal highway speed.

"Phew," Ty said. "That was a close one."

"Now that that's over, will you please tell me what is going on?" Xara asked.

"How about we show you what's going on?" Ty said. He reached up and pulled his wig off, then reached around the corners of his face. Smog's mask peeled off, revealing Ty's face. Jax removed his disguise as well.

"It was you the whole time?" Xara stated.

"Yup, you're bff from spy school," Ty said with a wink.

"And Jax, you're here, too." Jax nodded. Xara's gaze turned to me. "And who are you? You don't look like Dawn."

I swallowed, though my mouth went dry. I had been waiting for this moment my whole life. I had wanted to meet my predecessor, the person who I was supposed to be.

Slowly, I peeled the corners of the mask back. Xara's eyes went wide.

Xara's surprised? That's not something you see everyday.

"I'm you," I said.

Silence fell in the car. Xara just blinked at me.

Ty cleared his throat. "She's your clone. The agency created her years ago in case of emergency...such as the predicament we were just in."

"A clone?" Xara whispered. "I...I have a clone?"

I smiled. "Yup, that's me."

"You don't seem like me."

My face fell in spite of myself. That's what I was afraid of.

Those few, simple words had crushed my heart, broken it into a million pieces.

She's right. I'll never be like her. I'm not her.

But if I'm not Xara, then what am I?

Xara's face returned to its normal expression. Her normal calm, cool, and collected expression.

Emotionless.

The expression I should have.

Her eyes hardened into stone. "Are we going to the agency now?"

"Yes," Ty said. "The Director is expecting us today."

"Good."

"You wouldn't believe all that has happened," Dari said.

"The Director will fill me in."

That was the end of it. Clearly, Xara was not in a talking mood. And when The Lead wasn't in a talking mood, no one would speak.

That's right. She's The Leader of Team Summit now. And I'm...I'm going to go back to being nobody.

I didn't want to feel sorry for myself. That wasn't something Xara would do. But if I wasn't Xara, then did it really matter?

Yes. It does matter. It matters to me. When I returned back to the IIA, I needed to work doubly hard at being emotionless. I needed to be stoic at all times. I couldn't show any happiness, fear, or sorrow.

I needed to be Agent X.